Can chemotherapy itself cause bone loss?

Answers -Charles Shapiro
That's a good question. We don't know the answer to that, except to say that women in my study who retained their periods had no significant loss of bone. They had a transient loss of bone related to decreasing estrogen levels, but at one year, they had no significant change in their bone density. However, the women who became postmenopausal experienced a lot of bone loss and it was related to lowered levels of estrogen. So that's a question that remains to be answered. Our study suggested that it was the estrogen and not the chemotherapy itself that was responsible for the bone loss.

Marisa C. Weiss, M.D.
I know that everyone wants to thank you for your original research on this very important question.

Charles Shapiro
Thank you.

Marisa C. Weiss, M.D.
You're welcome.

On Wednesday, August 21, 2002, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Keeping Your Bones Strong. Charles L. Shapiro, M.D. and Marisa Weiss, M.D. answered your questions about how to measure the strength of your bones, how to find out your risk for osteoporosis, and what you can do to lower that risk.

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